Bridge to bring a dramatic new look to Daytona Beach downtown

The view of the Halifax River from City Island will soon look very different as a striking, new $43 million bridge rises to connect the island and the beachside.

By MARK LANEmark.lane@news-jrnl.com

DAYTONA BEACH – The view of the Halifax River from City Island will soon look very different as a striking, new $43 million bridge rises to connect the island and the beachside. The Tom Staed/Veterans Memorial Bridge is slated to be torn down early next year. Its remains may be buried at sea to form an artificial reef. In its place will be a new bridge with graceful arches at its center.“There is no arch bridge like this in Florida,” Volusia County Engineer Gerald Brinton.According to Brinton, the arches are not mere decorations. They help bear the weight of the bridge so it can keep a lower profile even as it meets the U.S. Coast Guard's requirement of keeping 65 feet of clearance above the water. One by one, the county has replaced its drawbridges with lower maintenance, high-rise spans. Only three are left ­— High Bridge, the Main Street Bridge and the Tom Stead/Veterans Memorial Bridge. Of them, the Veterans Memorial Bridge, often called the Silver Beach Bridge or the Orange Avenue Bridge, has the lowest sufficiency score as measured by Florida Department of Transportation inspectors.Its score was 30.7 on a scale of 100 as of January, according the State DOT. Bridges with a score below 50 are slated for replacement.“It's just outlived its useful lifespan,” said Brinton.The low score made the replacement bridge project eligible for full federal funding without a local matching grant. “It's all (federal) gas tax collected at the gas pump,” said Brinton.Nevertheless, the county's announcement in 2011 that it would replace the drawbridge was not met with applause.

A show of hands among the 100 people at a June 2011 meeting on bridge showed a clear majority wanting to keep the old span.Neighbors were concerned that a higher, larger bridge would be daunting to cross. Anglers objected to losing a fishing spot. Others were concerned about the effect on historic Lilian Place at the northeast side of the bridge. Members of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce worried about access to the group's office.The concerns of Sandra Sirk were shared by her neighbors. “From my apartment, I can see the Chamber, Courthouse, Jackie Robinson Stadium, the top of Halifax Hospital, the old Winston Tower, the Supercross Tower, the lights of the dog track, and all of the bridges from Granada to Port Orange,” she said. “It is heartbreaking to think that this might be replaced with ugly slabs of concrete.”But almost three years later, most of those affected seem to have come around. At a community meeting two weeks ago, the 50 people attending literally applauded the road engineers and public officials. “I've never had a public meeting like that,” said Brinton. “I'm really pleased with where we are now.” A result he credits to years of community meetings on the design. District 2 County Council member Josh Wagner agreed. “The response has been very positive. I think this is because we utilized a community-based committee and have come up with a great design as a group. Everyone has contributed and helped make the project better than when it began.”Sirk says she appreciates the effort, but isn't among those won over. “Their apparent commitment eases some of my concerns. There is, however, no getting around the fact that the bridge will be twice as high as it presently is, decreasing the sunset views and ballpark firework displays.”Dave Castagnacci of the Chamber said his group is happy with the design even though the office's parking lot will need to be reconfigured. He said the bridge's modern LED lighting looks striking and credits the designers with “giving the bridge more of a community feel.” The objections about loss of fishing space have been answered with a fishing pier underneath the bridge. Brinton said this extra will even be eligible for federal funding.“The new Veterans Bridge with Memorial Park and fishing pier will definitely benefit the community, and hopefully improvements along the county owned riverfront will benefit the Lilian Place Heritage Center,” said Nancy Long, president and founder of the Heritage Preservation Trust, the organization runs Lilian Place.“The county has assured us that all precautions will be taken during construction to ensure no damage will be done to the 140-year-old Lilian Place structure.” Her main concern now is that visitors are able to find their way to the house during the two years it will take to build the bridge.

Lilian Place was built before there was a bridge across the Halifax. In 1888, Daytona's first bridge, then called South Bridge, was built next to the house.Privately financed, the wooden toll bridge had a hand-cranked draw in the middle and cost five cents to cross. The city's tiny jail hung off the side of the bridge opposite the bridge-tender's office.A second, sturdier wooden bridge replaced it in 1926 and was rebuilt after storm damage in 1930. “I still remember the bump, bump, bump of the tires when dad used to drive our old Plymouth across it in the 1930s,” recalled Halifax Historical Museum director Fayn LeVeille.With members of two high school marching bands looking on, smiling three-year-old twins Dan and Don Cunningham, grandchildren of County Commissioner Ucal Cunningham, cut the opening ribbon on the current bridge on March 23, 1955, according to the News-Journal's account.It was considered a huge improvement. Made of long-lasting concrete, not wood, it was built for $915,000 ($8 million in today's dollars) and funded with a property-tax levy that was collected while the bridge was still in its planning stages to avoid the costs of borrowing.Although the new drawbridge was named Veterans Memorial Bridge, the veteran part didn't go much beyond a plaque. Plans for the new high-rise bridge would change that with a veterans memorial plaza on the northwest side of the bridge. The project's advisory committee proposed moving Daytona Beach's war memorial at Tuscawilla Park to the new site, something that would depend on approval from the County Council and the city of Daytona Beach. The veterans memorial, built in 1938, originally stood in Riverfront Park downtown. “It fits perfectly into the design,” said Wagner.The veterans memorial area now is the only part of the bridge project not federally funded. “We are looking into multiple grant opportunities for the Veterans Memorial Plaza funding,” said Wagner. “I feel very confident that the plaza construction will be funded.”The exact design for the plaza has not been finalized, according to Brinton.“The great thing about the bridge is that the entire bridge is a veterans' memorial,” Wagner said.

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